Anxiety, perception, and control of heart rate

8 women and 8 men took Cattell's IPAT-anxiety questionnaire and later McFarland's test of ability to perceive heart activity. The second test involved subjects' tracking their own heart rates, then they enrolled in an EKG biofeedback session to evaluate ability to increase and decrease heart rate from subjects' resting baselines. At the end of the session each subject completed Blanchard, et al.'s questionnaire to specify the cognitive strategies used for heart-rate control. Heart rate, abdominal respiration rate, respiration amplitude, EEG percent power in theta, alpha, and beta bands were evaluated. Success of heart-rate decrease seemed to depend mainly on activity levels: the subjects who achieved high scores on the activity test decreased heart rate significantly better than did low scorers. The relationship between scores for perception of heart and increases in heart rate was nonsignificant: increased heart-rate seemed to depend on differences in respiration between the rest and periods of increase. The significant, negative correlation between trait anxiety and perceptions of heart activity suggested that anxiety affected subjects' ability to perceive heart rate. The theta EEG power of the right hemisphere was significantly higher in subjects scoring high than for those low in perception of heart activity. During heart-rate increase tasks subjects mainly reported use of 'arousal responses,' similarly during heart-rate decrease tasks they reported use of relaxation responses.